When you drive by Horch Roofing on Route 90, you might notice the company sign, complete with its very own red standing-seam metal roof. Beneath the sign rests a busted wheelbarrow with a huge rock sitting on top.

So what’s the story with the wheelbarrow?

Peter Horch started his roofing company in 2003 and worked on roofs throughout Midcoast Maine for a number of years without seeing much growth. It was only in 2007 when Peter said to himself, “I think it’s time to grow the company we can do this.”

At this point Peter and a small crew, including his longtime employee, Devin, were working on back-to-back jobs. Sometimes after a long day on the roof, it was routine for them to come back to Peter’s house, which was also the base for Horch Roofing, and have a couple of cold beers after the workday was over. One day, Peter started talking to Devin about how it was time to grow the company. “This is it. We’re getting busier, the phone is ringing; this is a good thing.” Devin agreed. It was time to grow.

“Okay. Let’s grab my chainsaw. Let’s go cut down some trees so we can expand and make a bigger lot out back.” So that day, Peter took his chainsaw out to the driveway and got to work clearing land to expand.

“It was just a controlled mess,” Devin said. “He just started cutting trees out there.”

As Peter cut down trees, Devin helped by clearing it all away and making room for him to keep cutting. He used a wheelbarrow to carry the big logs away. They made quite a bit of progress that day, when finally the wheelbarrow broke. It would not carry anything else.

“Way to go, Devin,” Peter said. “Here’s our only wheelbarrow, and you just broke it!”

Then Devin picked up a big boulder and smashed the busted wheelbarrow.

“It’s broken now, isn’t it?” Devin replied. They both laughed.

The wheelbarrow stayed broken even as Horch Roofing grew in the years following that initial day. As trucks came in and out, as the new shop went up, that busted wheelbarrow stayed in the same spot for four years before it was moved to its current place underneath the Horch Roofing sign. The significance of the wheelbarrow is that it represents that first day when Peter and Devin got to work to start making the company grow.

Since the day the wheelbarrow broke, Peter’s company has:

Expanded from a 300 square foot office site to a 6,400 square foot site that includes 3 individual buildings,

Become a fully-insured company, protecting our clients with $1 million of liability insurance,

Completed over 1,000 projects to date,

Owns a total of 23 vehicles, and

Manufactures its own metal roofing material on-site

The amount of growth is astounding, and the busted wheelbarrow resting under the red roofed sign represents the hard work that went into making Horch Roofing the successful company that it is today.

About Horch Roofing: The company is Midcoast Maine’s largest and most experienced roofing contractors. Horch Roofing has been roofing Maine homes in Rockland, Camden, Thomaston, Rockport, Union, Warren, and Waldoboro since 2002, and continues to offer the best-quality roofing job to customers. For more information, visit their website at http://www.horchroofing.com, and their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HorchRoofing or call them at (207)-273-1111.